EHS Choral Program's Annual Madrigal Dinner Takes Audience Back to 16th Century England

EDWARDSVILLE - Each year, the Edwardsville Choral Program's Annual Madrigal Dinner is a magical event and this year's dates and times are 7 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 6, and 1 and 5 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 7.

Emily Ottwein, the EHS choral director, said the Madrigal Dinner takes the audience back to 16th Century England and is a delightful evening, of song, comedy, and holiday cheer.

"A catered meal is served to attendees as the EHS Chamber Singers and members of the EHS Drama Department entertain with song and a dama," she said. "This year's drama, written by Seniors Abby Loftus and Ellie Paschall, has the King (Harrison Padon) and Queen (Reese Pifer) of Bahumia offering a Bachelor/Bachelorete-type contest in order to win the hearts of the Prince and Princess (Ryan Whaley and Katharine Peterson). The contest is hosted by Sir Seamus, the "right-hand man" of the Kingdom (Nick Greenland.)

"The singing is all a cappella and is a mix of Madrigals and Holiday songs. There is also a brass quintet which heralds all of the courses of the Madrigal Feast. This year the Madrigal returns to its traditional venue, Liberty Middle School. The meal will be catered by an outside catering service and will include a chicken dish, potatoes, green beans, salad, wassail, and figgy pudding (aka cheesecake). Vegetarian options are available."

Tickets for the Madrigal Dinner are $25 per person and can be purchased by emailing ehsmadrigaltickets@ gmail.com

The annual Madrigal Dinner is a fundraiser for the high school’s choral program. Money raised goes towards things for the music program such as purchasing choral music, providing educational field trips, and buying necessary equipment. The choir has also been invited back to sing at Carnegie Hall in New York in the fall of 2020.

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